Larry Ellison, World’s Second-Richest Man, Loses $14 Billion On Diwali Monday | Viral News

Larry Ellison is Oracle’s cofounder, chairman, and CTO. (Photo Credit: X)

Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison saw his net worth drop by $14 billion on Diwali Monday after the company’s shares fell nearly 5 per cent, according to Forbes. The loss amounts to roughly Rs 12.34 lakh crores. Despite the decline, the 81-year-old remains one of the world’s highest-earning billionaires this year.

Ellison’s wealth has surged $144 billion over the past year, a 75 per cent increase, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index reports. He is currently the world’s second-richest person, with an estimated net worth of around $336 billion, as per Forbes.

Who Is Larry Ellison?

Larry Ellison is Oracle’s cofounder, chairman, and CTO, owning about 40 per cent of the company. He stepped down as CEO in 2014 after 37 years.

Born in 1944 in the Bronx, Ellison was adopted and raised in Chicago. He dropped out of college and worked on a database project for the CIA before founding Oracle in 1977. Oracle went public in 1986, a day before Microsoft’s IPO.

Ellison lives on Hawaii’s Lanai, which he mostly bought in 2012 for $300 million. He served on Tesla’s board from 2018 to 2022 and owns nearly 50 per cent of Paramount Skydance, formed after a $28 billion merger with his son David’s company.

In September, Ellison briefly became the richest person globally when Oracle shares soared, temporarily surpassing Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The surge followed Oracle securing major AI cloud contracts with companies including OpenAI and Meta.

Oracle shares have recently slid further, dropping about 6.3 per cent and cutting $24.1 billion from Ellison’s fortune. Musk remains the richest, with a net worth near $486 billion.

Larry Ellison’s Giving Pledge

Oracle reported $57.4 billion in revenue for the year ending May 31. Ellison is known for his lavish lifestyle, yachts, planes, real estate and the Indian Wells tennis event, and is a sailing enthusiast, financing Oracle Team USA’s America’s Cup victories. He signed the Giving Pledge in 2010, promising to donate at least 95 per cent of his wealth.

Ellison also founded the Ellison Institute of Technology with Oxford University to tackle global challenges like healthcare, climate change and AI. He also set up the Ellison Medical Foundation for ageing research. His philanthropy includes $200 million to USC for cancer research and $1 billion to the foundation. The $1.3 billion Oxford EIT campus is set to open by 2027.